HOW TO GO
WHAT: Midnight Madness Marathon
WHEN: Sept. 10. Marathon and marathon relays start at 7 p.m. Half-marathon and 10K races start at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Hamilton. Start and finish at Fitton Center for the Creative Arts, 101 S. Monument Ave.
TO REGISTER: Runners can register online at www.CincyHalfMarathon.com
MORE INFO: Email racedirector@tucsonracing.com.
The first-ever Midnight Madness Marathon on Sept. 10 in Hamilton will be unlike most marathons in at least two ways.
First, the races will happen in the evening, a refreshing change for runners from having to wake up in the wee hours. The marathon, and 2-, 4-, and 6-person marathon relays, will start at 7 p.m., with a half-marathon and 10K races launching 30 minutes later.
Also, it will take four laps of the 6.55-mile course in Hamilton’s East Side and along the Great Miami River to complete the marathon, two laps for the half-marathon.
“It’s more like a party,” said race director Jonathan Grinder, who also organizes such events as the July 4 Rocket Man 5K, 10K and 15K races in Loveland, and the Great Ohio River Swim (Sept. 25) in Cincinnati.
“Parties are in the evening. So we’re just going to have kind-of a running party,” he said. “And people can run. People can hang out and listen to music, or drink some beer. Whatever they want to do. We’re just going to have a running party.”
An evening marathon “is unique,” Grinder said.
“Runners have so many choices these days that what we’re trying to do is give them another choice — something a little different, and hopefully a little more fun. Who likes to get up at 4 in the morning to run a race?” he said.
“Most of our athletes will get done before midnight,” Grinder said. “We plan to have our awards ceremony at midnight. But there will definitely still be athletes out on the course at midnight.”
Adding to the fun, and the mix of speeds people are running, will be the marathon relays of two-, four- or six-people, he said, and the fact some people will be lapping others.
“That’s why we’ll have relays, too, Grinder said. “We’ll have relay runners who will be going a lot faster than the marathon runners, and there’ll just be a lot of people on the course doing different things, and that adds to the fun.”
“We have a state-of-the-art timing system, and we’ll be able to keep track of everybody,” Grinder said. “It won’t be any problem at all.”
Hamilton Economic Development Director Jody Gunderson said he hopes the events will help people rediscover the city, and encourage them to visit again.
“I think any of those types of events that give Hamilton exposure to people who haven’t been here, or haven’t been here in a while, are good for us, because we think a lot has changed in the community, and we seem to get that kind of comment from people that a lot has happened in Hamilton since the last time they were here,” Gunderson said. “So any chance we get to be a host to more people, we think that’s a pretty good step forward for us.”
“Hamilton has gone way far beyond, providing us with a great course,” Grinder said. “I mean, our course is street-lit the whole way.”
Organizers originally hoped for a Sept. 17 event, the day next to a full moon (Sept. 16), but to avoid conflicts with other events, it was changed to the Saturday before — Sept. 10.
“We were hoping the 17th, a full moon,” Grinder said. “We had to move it to the 10th, which I’m just as happy with. I think the 10th is a great day as well. Usually the weather in the fall, in the evening, cools off pretty well. It ought to be a great day.”
Grinder is hoping to attract 400 to 500 runners this year.
“We’re already closing in on 100 people,” he said. “We only started promoting two to three weeks ago, and I’m hearing a lot of buzz from athletes.”
In a couple years, he hopes the event will draw as many as 1,000 people.
“It’s a running festival. We’ll keep adding events, and things for people to do, and hopefully we can make a new Cincinnati tradition, in Hamilton,” he said.
“That race is something I think is going to be something that Hamilton will have for years to come,” said Joshua Stephens, director of sports marketing and sales for the Butler County Visitors Bureau. “Hamilton’s nice waterway was something that really enticed (Grinder). And it was very nice of the Fitton Center (for Creative Arts) to be a start and finish. And the city has really gotten behind us to really help support this.”
The start and finish will also be near Hamilton's newly opened Municipal Brew Works, "which has been very kind to work with us to welcome these racers," Stephens said. There also will be an all-day concert nearby at the RiversEdge amphitheater, featuring the Revivalists and several other bands.
"We're real excited to partner with the city of Hamilton and the Butler County Visitors Bureau," Grinder said. "Without these partners, we couldn't get it done."
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